Chapter 57

CHAPTER 57 Oliver’s death only became a piece of news to the Sterling family. Since he had no family and because he wasn’t even driving a vehicle from the Sterling family, they were not obligated to explain anything.

When the hospital called the Sterling family to take his body home, Shawn refused.

Later that day, Devon went to the hospital the next day and spent his own money to cremate Oliver along with some plants he had collected from the villa. Oliver liked to water plants so much so he’d do it even after dinner every night, so Devon wanted to do this.

As for the crumpled bugatti, it was sent to a scrapyard.

When Devon returned to the villa as a tired old man, he entered the dorms and sat on his bed. He grabbed a water bottle and emptied half of it before putting it back on the desk, and that was when he noticed the familiar platinum card on the desk.

His expression froze for a second. And then tears sprang up to his eyes. “Oliver... did you fight the casino guys for me?” he couldn’t control his tears. “I was very mistaken about you. You really were a good guy.” He lowered his head, covered his eyes with his hand and cried. After crying for more than three minutes, he grabbed the card. Flames of anger rose in his eyes. “Is your death really an accident, or...”

He wanted to do something, but he felt like he was too old to investigate by himself.

Meanwhile, it was getting dark outside.

The Rowdy Queen was cooking instant noodles in her house, but being near the stove made her cough. Everything in her house was in disorder. Even the clothes and emptied food packets were lying everywhere. In short, it was a mess.

“Whoever that pizza-delivery guy was, he’s no joke. I’ve never seen anyone disarm a gun so quickly and effectively. While he cost me a packet of pot, I still feel lucky that he wasn’t interested in me. At my age, I’m not in a position to compete with hot-

blooded youngsters.” Her stomach rumbled. “Shit,” she rubbed her belly. “I finished a full bowl of vegetable soup in the afternoon, but all the tension and thinking has already made me hungry.” She coughed a couple of times. “Damn. The cough is really persistent today.”

Knock Knock.

“Mm?” she frowned. “Who is it at this hour?” she peeked past the curtain and noticed an old man with a bowl in one hand and a walking stick in the other. He looked pretty terrible. (Look at him. Is he the beggar king or what? But why in the world is he begging at this hour?) She took a breath and said, ‘who is it,’ loudly. “Just a hungry beggar hoping for a meal.” A rather dull reply reached her ears, suggesting the other party was hungry maybe? “I don’t have anything to offer,” she barked impatiently. “Just leave.”

“Why are you lying, ma’am?” His voice contained a bit of annoyance. “I can smell the noodles you’re cooking.”

“Tch, does this guy have a dog’s nose or what?” she ground her teeth before dropping the coriander leaves in the cooking pot.

“Even if I let him in, I don’t think he’ll have any money for me to steal.” She then yelled, “I’m cooking just for myself. Go away.”

A second of silence followed.

Knock. Knock. A vein in her neck throbbed. The door was knocked again. She had enough of this beggar’s play. Rolling up her sleeves, she stamped her feet on her way to the door and opened it with force. “Since you want to be slapped so badly...” she waved her hand at him. He caught her wrist and said, “You are still as arrogant as ever, Lily.”

Her expression froze. Only one man had ever called her by that name very long ago. “Y-You are ... Don’t tell me...” she backed away. “W-What do you want?” her heart was beating fast. “D Did you come here to take revenge after all this while?” her body shook against her will. “If I really wanted revenge, I would have made your life miserable long ago,” he said and removed his mask, surprising her. Now she was able to remember her face. “But seeing how you’re living now, alone, depressed, and awaiting death... I think you’re suffering enough.” She gnashed her teeth. “Alfred Bond!” The scariest moments of her past flashed in her mind, when a single assassin stormed into the second largest mafia of the country and routed them all by himself. Over three thousand of them. Seeing this monster among monsters, whom she backstabbed in the name of love and failed, she couldn’t control her heartbeat. Even after having thousands of deadly battles, there was only one scar on his back, and that was a knife wound given by her, aimed at his heart. But somehow, he survived.

“Why do you look like so shocked?” he asked, letting out a faint smile. “Did you think I’d be pushing up the daisies by now?”

“I-If you’re alive, then that means ‘that’family is still...” her heart rang in her ears.

Alfred’s gaze turned a tad bit serious, but his facial muscles were calm. “If you are gonna stay shocked like that, you’re gonna have a cramp in the face. You are not young anymore.” He walked up to the stove and turned it off before pouring the hot noodles in the bowl. When his hand reached out for the fork, her heart skipped many beats. She had seen this man kill dozens with a fork in the past, after all As he slurped on the noodles, he nodded in appreciation. “Mhmm, your cooking has improved. You got better at using the spices.”

The spice mixture came with the noodles packet when she had bought it in the supermarket, but she didn’t feel the need to tell that to him.

“W-What are you here for?” she asked. She wanted to know that more than anything else.

“Didn’t I already tell you? I’m just here for the noodles, but...” he sniffed the surroundings a little bit, “it seems you still haven’t quit your bad habit. It may be a soft drug, but when consumed over a period, its effects on one’s health are uncool.”

She didn’t say anything.

“Do you remember the first time we met,” he asked. “It was a beautiful night. I met a woman who outshined the moon, or so I thought.”

She lowered her head in regret. After finishing half of the noodles, he put the bowl on the table and began walking out.”

Goodbye.” As he left her sight, she wanted to apologize like she wanted to in the past, but again, what she had done wasn’t something that could be erased or forgotten with a mere apology. She just watched him leave. Seconds passed. Even though her stomach was making noises, her heart right now didn’t feel like eating. Sitting in the chair, she suffered in her head.